


Fallout

by AlastorGrim



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: A Complicated One But Still, Angst, BAMF Valerie Gray, Classic Dan Escapes Fic, Clockwork AKA Resident Dad, Clockwork Is Done With Everyone's Shit, Danny Fenton's Martyr Complex, Danny's In A Band, Dubious Consent, Emotionally Constipated Vlad Masters, Multi, Past Dark Gray, Sexual Tension, Someone Please Help Mr. Lancer, Time Travel, We're BAMFing Everybody, Yule log, apocalypse au, dan is an asshole, ghost king, ghost lore, no beta we just die
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:00:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27187618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlastorGrim/pseuds/AlastorGrim
Summary: "You have no idea what you're doing. There are larger forces at play." He gestured stiffly at the thermos. "You open that--you release him-- and you will bring them down upon us all."In which the Observants are really stupid and decide letting Dan out is a good idea.
Relationships: Clockwork & Danny Fenton, Danny Fenton/Dan Phantom, Danny Fenton/Vlad Masters, Valerie Gray/Dan Phantom, Vlad Masters/Dan Phantom
Comments: 13
Kudos: 68





	1. Hush Now

**Author's Note:**

> Come on. You can't tell me you haven't thought about it.

"You don't know what you're doing."

The Observant closest to him swung a clawed hand to bat the time staff out of its face, eye narrowed. "You have shielded him from us long enough, Clockwork. In _both_ forms. It is time Phantom was properly punished for his crimes."

Clockwork's eyes narrowed, floating back slightly and glancing furtively at the banged up silver thermos held carelessly in the Head Observants claws. Clenching his jaw, the Master of Time bared his teeth in a rare show of disdain. "You have no idea what you're doing. There are larger forces at play." He gestured stiffly at the thermos. "You open that--you release him-- and you will bring them down upon us all."

"Stop your fearmongering, Time Keeper," the Observant drawled, infuriatingly dismissive. "We have the means to hold a being no matter their power. He has rested long enough without fear of punishment."

" _Rested,_ " Clockwork repeated scathingly, tone low. His fingers tightened around his staff, eyes flaring crimson. "Need I remind you that you came to _me_. It was you who asked for _my_ help in dealing with Phantom--in all states. Forgive me if I take offense at your sudden nonchalance."

"You have grown complacent," the Head Observer called irritably, visibly irked by Clockwork's tone. 

Eyes flashing, Clockwork's arm twitched--an aborted swing, most likely. "You dare accuse _me_ of complacency? You, who sit back and watch as time passes by like a parade for your amusement and perusal without ever lifting a finger to help it along? You, who erect walls in the time stream like dams and somehow convince yourself that it is _helping_?" His voice was soft, deathly still. Clockwork swept out a hand, mouth twisted with distaste. "Go then. I cannot stop you from being your own downfall if you are so determined to wreak havoc. Just know that when you inevitably turn to my tower for help, there will be none."

The Observant nearest him scoffed and the group took their leave in a huff. "Ancients. The lot of you don't seem to understand what 'order' means."

Clockwork spun and floated down the foyer hall, thoroughly exhausted with the entire ordeal. He didn't look back.

When the Observants exited his clocktower, and they would never reenter it. That was as much certainty as it was his own determination. Even if they somehow managed to survive, they would not be able to find him again. 

Clockwork was done taking orders.

•☠️•

Danny hurtled through the air at the highest of speeds he could muster, panting uselessly as he dodged a barrage of pink ectoblasts. "Would you stop and listen to me?" he roared over the wind as he fled. "I didn't take your stupid crown!"

"Lying," Plasmius said pleasantly as he teleported in front of Danny, causing the young halfa to crash into his chest. He caught Danny by the neck and squeezed, baring his teeth in a lethal smile. "Is very unbecoming of you, Daniel. Aren't you supposed to be a hero?" He mused, before charging his arm with ectoenergy and sending it zapping into Danny, bolts of pink lightning bursting over his skin.

Danny let out a shriek of pain. He grit his teeth and twisted, planting his foot into Plasmius' gut and wriggling out of his grip once he'd doubled over. "You're one to talk, Fruitloop!" Danny called over his shoulder with a victorious smile. He ducked down into an alley and quickly changed back into Fenton, then resumed walking the rest of the way home like normal. If Plasmius attacked him now, as close as he was, the Fenton alarm would go off and Maddie and Jack would rush out to see a spook they already hated attacking their poor son. In other words, Vlad couldn't do shit to him. Danny glanced back and fluttered his fingers mockingly up at the infuriated halfa, smirking as he trotted up the stairs to the front door. 

Plasmius had accosted him on his way home from school, screeching about the Crown of Fire, and while Danny was more than happy that it wasn't in Vlad's possession anymore, the truth was that he didn't actually have it, no matter what Plasmius thought. It'd certainly be nice to have, but it's disappearance wasn't an altogether bad thing so long as Pariah didn't come crashing back through the veil. Which, considering Vlad wasn't stupid enough to try the same trick twice, was highly unlikely. So all Danny had to worry about was Plasmius being more of an asshole than usual.

That, and making it to band practice before Ember killed him. Again. 

"Hey Mom sorry I'm late but I gotta go I'll be back by ten!" Danny yelled all in one breath, thundering up the stairs to grab his bass before his mom could rope him into whatever they were doing in the basement. 

"Is that Danny?" He heard her mutter as he transformed back into Phantom and leaped out of his window. 

He snickered to himself, bass strapped to his back and he darted invisibly through the streets, low to the ground in case Plasmius was still looking for him. Danny paused by the Nasty Burger for a moment, catching sight of Valerie sitting at one of the outside tables. She had her face tipped up towards the sky, eyes closed and a small uptick to her lips. 

"Probably enjoying being able to sit down outside of that stupid suit," Danny murmured to himself with a shake of his head, smiling as he spun to head towards Valerie instead. 

A half-full milkshake sat in front of her, melting slowly as she heaved in a deep, content breath. She damn near lept out of her seat when a familiar voice brushed past her ear, unseen hands clapping down her shoulders. " _Boo._ "

"Dammit, Phantom," she snarled, whirling and slugging him in the general vicinity of his arm. She was released and the chill of his presence backed off with a whine.

"Actually it's _Danny_ Phantom. With an N." 

Valerie could practically picture his pouty grin. She rolled her eyes and snagged her shake to take a long drink. "What're you bothering me for? Don't you have spooks to irritate?"

The chill returned, and the frosty mist of his breath could be seen if she looked close enough. "We're starting in ten minutes. Thought I'd see if you wanted to tag along, since you said you wanted to see what we could do last I mentioned it."

Green eyes widened, and a smile curled her lips. Grabbing her shake, she stood and felt Phantom follow her around the side of the diner where she could change without fear of someone seeing her. As soon as she clicked her heels together, Phantom appeared with his shiny new guitar peeking out from his shoulder. It was a sleek, bright red. 

Valerie smirked as her jetsled formed beneath her feet and they took off into the sky. "I always thought green was your color. You trying to steal my style?"

"What style?" Danny said innocently, a sly smile on his face. He laughed when Valerie tried to punch him again, spiralling out of range with an impish grin.

The flight to the other side of town was spent playing a game of makeshift tag, with Valerie chasing after Danny and Danny performing increasingly more impressive maneuvers to avoid her vengeful fists. By the time the pulled to a stop in the alley beside Ember's latest hideout, they were both wind-swept and laughing. Danny changed back into Fenton and Valerie put her suit away, jet sled collapsing back into the soles of her shoes. She knocked him on the shoulder and smirked. "Next time, Phantom."

"Is that a challenge?" Danny cooed with a grin, dancing away when she went to pinch him. He opened the door for her and tipped his head. "C'mon. I'm already late and Ember'll kill me if we keep her waiting any longer."

"Danny!" a high voice called from inside, a dark hallway lit only with black light carrying the echoey sound much more loudly than normal. 

Danny winced. "Case in point."

"GET YOUR ASS IN HERE, BABYBOP!" Ember yelled, and he and Valerie hastily scrambled inside.

"'Bout time, whelp," Skulker growled from his place leaned up against the stage. The sight of him put Valerie on edge, but Danny had long since stopped being worried about Skulker. 

"Yeah, well, I'd have been here on time if your boss hadn't tackled me out of the air on my way home," Danny shot back with a frosty glare. He slung his bass around the front by the strap until he could hold it properly.

Skulker merely shrugged. "What Plasmius does is his own business."

Danny snorted and heaved himself up onto the stage, a hand extended to help him up. He looked up to see Tucker smirking down at him, and grinned back. He dusted himself off once up and glanced back at Skulker. "Until it benefits you, right?"

Skulker grinned, eyes squinting sharply as he pointedly flexed his new, upgraded guns. "Look at you. The runt's finally starting to understand how the world works."

"It only works that way if you're an _asshole_ ," Sam called scathingly from her place behind the drumset.

Valerie had taken up a spot by the rusted double doors near the back of the room and was now surveying them all with a half-smile as they bickered and spat back and forth. The building Ember had chosen for rehearsals was an abandoned one, which meant that most of the walls were gutted and it echoed like hell, a few busted up tables and chairs scattered about the room that looked like they'd disintegrate if anyone tried to sit in them. There was faded, chipped blue wallpaper along the outer walls, along with a fair amount of graffiti. There was also a cluster of dark green, squashy couches and armchairs in a corner next to the stage. 

Ember, who had until that point been standing to the side and watching the fighting with vague amusement, abruptly pulled out her guitar and slammed a chord through the air, knocking everyone on their asses save for Sam, who merely got sent into a wall as her rolling stool was shoved away from the drums by the wall of sound. 

"Alright, dumbasses, get it together," Ember drawled, the flames of her hair flickering in irritation. Skulker coughed into his fist and looked away. Danny scrambled back to his feet and helped Tucker back up with a sheepish smile. "We're running on a schedule, here."

"And that gives you the right to try and slam us into the floor with your stupid guitar?" Sam retorted mutinously as she rubbed at her ear. 

Tucker sighed and leaned into Danny with a dopey look on his face. "She can slam me anytime--"

"You're disgusting and I love you," Danny chirped easily as he spun Tucker away from him and shoved him towards the keyboard set up in the corner. "But Ember's right. Get your shit together, Tuck."

"Betrayal!" Tucker cried.

"In five!" Ember yelled before they could start bickering again. "Four! _Three--!_ " And then she twisted and banged out the beginning riff of their first song. 

Danny was quick to follow, easily falling into the choreography that Sam had been drilling into his brain for the past three weeks. A slam of Ember's boot, a flare of blue flame, and then her mic duplicated and slid its twin over towards Danny. He stopped it with his foot and kicked it into place.

" _I'm nervous, so nervous,_

_I overeat,_

_I lack purpose,_

_And I'm only scratching the surface..._ "

Valerie tipped her head, surprised. She'd never heard Danny sing before, but he was fairly decent at it. He had the baritone for the type of music Ember tended to play, at least, with a slight rasp to it that added to Ember's when she joined in to sing the next verse.

" _And I'm not shelved,_

_'Cause sex sells,_

_But how long 'til I'm cancelled?_ "

They sung in unison as they reached the chorus, Ember's hair flaring out like a bonfire as Danny's eyes blared the toxic green of Phantom, both of them roaring into the microphones like the world had personally slighted them. Valerie shook her head and wondered how Danny was going to pull off being in a ghost band with a secret identity. 

" **This is 30, fucking 30!**

**I'm still here,**

**I'm still dirty!** "

"Guitar solo!" Tucker yelled from his place beside Sam, who was slamming against the drums so hard that if the sticks slipped it'd probably go straight through one of the rickety walls. 

She grinned, her hair slowly coming loose from her braid as she and Tucker banged out against their respective instruments, the keys beneath Tucker's fingers lighting up blue as he played. Danny glanced back at them and laughed as he stepped back to let Ember take the lead, amused by the sight of both of them mussed and grinning like sharks. 

Danny met Valerie's eyes from across the room and winked. Ember slid back to meet him as he spun back forwards, and they ended up pressed back to back as they started back up again--Danny leading this time. 

" _I made it,_

_I'm a flower,_

_I don't sleep,_

_I don't shower,_

_I masturbate twice every hour--_ "

"That's fucking disgusting!" Sam called out over the roar of their music. Valerie snickered.

" _And my band's sick,_

_'Cause my head's sick..._

_I get drunk and I'm reckless,_

_Stalk my Twitter,_

_Stan my bullshit,_

_This is 30--_

_**Something is wrong with me!**_ "

The music rose and crested, growing more intense as Danny bellowed out the last line and Ember started up her solo again. Tucker laughed as Danny and Sam joined in on Ember's solo with low vocals, but ended up joining in a bit himself as well, fingers flying across his keyboard like lightning. Ember ended her solo and swept forward on her own towards her microphone, singing alone this time even as Danny and Sam kept up their background noises.

" _So raise up your glasses,_

_To going out of fashion!_

_To acronyms, sex cams, and social distractions!_

_'Cause everything's changing, and I don't know shit about shit!_ "

Sam crashed her timbals, and the music quieted almost entirely, save for the slow strums of Danny's bass. Then he leaned forward as well, and the music swelled once more.

" _I'm older,_

_I've got wrinkles,_

_I still complain,_

_I miss when everything was simple…_ "

Skulker joined Valerie by the doors, and she gave him a wary glance. He inclined his head slightly, a slight quirk to his mouth. "The whelp is good."

Valerie glanced back to the stage and nodded stiffly. "So's your girlfriend. They all are."

Eyes flaring, Skulker smiled. "I've been meaning to get in touch with you, Huntress. Phantom and his ilk are usually notoriously hard to get ahold of, however--"

"Can't this wait?" Valerie bit out irritably. She jerked her thumb at the stage. "I'm watching the show."

"They will perform again," Skulker replied with a furrowed brow, obviously put out. "This weekend, at one of your human venues."

Valerie hummed, wondering how, exactly, Danny thought he was gonna pull that off. Ember was a fairly well known ghost, and as such she should have no idea who Danny Fenton was. If he was intending to go as Phantom, he'd have to disguise Sam and Tucker. Valerie was looking forward to watching the inevitable disaster that was Danny attempting to plan anything. That didn't matter at the moment, however, because Skulker didn't seem to be able to take a hint.

" _The sex passed too fast,_

_I ask 'how long did your ex last?'_

_I'm fucking worthless,_

_I'm unhappy,_

_This is 30_

**_Yeah!_ **"** **

She ignored Skulker's attempts to start the conversation back up. She focused back in on the music and the roar of Danny's voice and tried to let it drown the ghost out. Valerie breathed out a sigh of relief when Ember's voice rising captured Skulker's attention once more.

" _So get off your asses and take down the masses!_

_Socialists, fascists--_

_The world is all plastic!_

_'Cause everyone fakes it,_

_But they don't know shit about shit!_ " 

Here, Sam and Tucker joined in as well, singing off time with Danny and Ember, but the echo worked well for them. 

" _Attention to the world, there's something wrong with me_ **(You treat me like a baby...)**

 _But sing the words and I'll pretend I'm twenty-three_ **(Forgive me when I'm wrong...)**

I'll please the crowd and I'll put out the candlelight **(You love me when I'm crazy...)**

 _You know my only wish is for a better life!_ "

The song came to an abrupt halt, the sound resonating within the walls and carrying it on for several more seconds before that too faded. Danny's chest was heaving, and his dark hair was hanging down in his face, grinning so hard his cheeks hurt. Adrenaline not unlike freefalling sprinted through his veins, his arms pleasantly sore from playing so hard.

God, he wished he'd thought to do this years ago. There was something deeply satisfying about a successful rehearsal. Maybe if Ember hadn't immediately started off with the whole mind-control hypnosis bullshit, they'd have joined up sooner. 

Sam gave a celebratory roll of her timbals as Tucker let out a whoop, pumping a fist in the air. "We are on _fire_!"

"Literally," Danny huffed out with a cheeky smile at Ember. She smirked back and wandered over towards Sam as Danny and Tucker did the same.

"We're gonna rock the socks off the entire Amity population," Sam mused as she twirled her sticks in hand, high-fiving Ember without looking with a small smirk. "I hope my parents show up."

"Chaos suits you, baby," Ember crooned with a snicker. "Keep it up. I'll make punks out of you three yet."

Danny shook his head and ran a hand through his sweat-damp hair. He was just glad he wasn't wearing whatever outfit Ember had scrounged up for him to wear during their first concert. He had no doubt it'd be metal and leather and shreds galore. Danny just hoped she didn't try to dye his hair again. 

A loud metal clang followed round of applause from the back of the room had Danny turning around to see Skulker laid out on the floor and Valerie walking towards them with a pleased look. She stopped just before the stage and raised an eyebrow at him. "Not bad, Fenton." She turned her gaze to the group at large to ask, "So are you guys playing? Tin head over there told me you're playing this weekend."

It was Tucker who answered, playing with the buttons on his keyboard until it only played sound effects, repeatedly pressing a button that sounded like a wolf whistle. "Yep! The mall--Sam managed to book us a place. It was supposed to be a surprise, but Danny is such a fucking _simp_ \--"

Tucker was cut off as Danny turned and slugged him in the stomach, a wheeze escaping his lips even as he burst into breathless cackles. 

"Says the guy who can't even go a day without hitting on someone," Danny spat back, though he was smiling too.

"Might have a place for you up here too one day, Red." Ember gave Valerie a considering once over, eyes gleaming. "You play?"

"I played the clarinet in, like, fifth grade."

"Yikes."

Valerie snickered, shaking her head. "Thanks for the offer, but hard pass. Even if I could play, I don't have time." Green eyes glanced at Danny, simultaneously exasperated, fond, and judgy. "Honestly I don't know how _you_ do."

"Oh, I totally don't," Danny chirped. 

Ember snorted and Sam rolled her eyes.

Danny geared himself up to make another quip--something about his time already being up due to him technically being _dead_ \--but before he could, all the lights in the building where eclipsed by a bright blue flare of light. All of them instinctively shielding their eyes, Valerie's sharp, "What the hell!" drowned out by the familiar whoosh of a portal. When Danny rubbed the spots from his eyes, he looked up to face whatever being had appeared. He blinked.

"Clockwork?"

Ember paled. She abruptly turned herself invisible and flung herself through the floor, barely managing to nab her guitar in her haste to escape. 

Danny, blindsided by Ember's sudden departure, had a brief moment of hysteria where he was sure that Clockwork had appeared solely to keep him from making a dumb time joke. The thought was quickly shoved aside by other, far less stupid ones--like the fact that Clockwork rarely ever left his tower if he didn't have to, and if he had shown up here it was probably for something far more poignant than whacking Danny over the head with his staff for being a dumbass. 

The severity in Clockwork's face quickly confirmed that, his gloves creaking from how hard they were gripping his staff. "We have a problem."

"O...kay?" Danny began uncertainly. He slung his bass back over his shoulder and took a wary step forward. He stopped when he caught sight of another figure behind Clockwork, bound and gagged in glowing cyan chains and looking rightly furious. "Vlad?" He snapped his gaze to Clockwork, incredulous once more. " _What_ is going on?"

"The Observants took the thermos. They want to put him on trial." 

Danny's stomach dropped. The reason for Clockwork's stony expression became suddenly, horrifically clear.

"They're going to let him out."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 30 by Badflower came on the radio and it gave me HARD Dan vibes for some reason so I yeeted it in :3 LET 👏 DANNY 👏 PLAY 👏 GUITAR


	2. Dry Your Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeey I promised myself I'd get this chap out before February BUT as you can see that didn't happen so have this slightly late and completely unedited chapter! :D

Danny was hurtling through the Ghost Zone before he could even fully process what Clockwork had said. He didn't think he'd ever transformed so fast in his _life_.

He knew vaguely where the Observants' main lair was, but while that normally wouldn't be enough to guide him, there had always been a tug in the back of his chest that linked Danny to _him_. Like called to like.

It was that pull he was following now, growing stronger the closer he got to the Observants Hall, his chest heaving in useless air as he struggled not to simply dissolve into a hyperventilating, hysterical mess.

Why-- _why_ were they trying to let Dan out? It was the Observants who wanted him gone in the first place! And now they thought it was a good idea to _release_ the most evil ghost of all time? Because they wanted to give him a _trial_? 

"What the fuck? _What the fuck?_ " Danny shrilled breathlessly as he shot past Skulker's island and Dora's castle and Nocturne's caves all in the span of one breath. He shook his head, clenching his jaw as he pushed himself faster. 

He had to get there before they let Dan out. He had to get to the thermos before the Observants did something they wouldn't be able to fix. Like always.

Danny choked on his own breath when a hand caught him by the tail and yanked him back, flinging him down onto a nearby floating piece of debris. His back slammed into solid rock, and Danny let out a pained groan as his vision spotted. He shook his head and hastily pushed himself up, blinking when he saw Vlad scowling down at him. 

Danny scowled right back. "Oh, I so don't have time for you right now. Fuck off, Plasmius. I've got bigger problems right now."

"Do you?" Vlad spat, voice dripping venom. "And these problems of yours warrant that troublesome time ghost kidnapping me, do they? Would these problems also happen to be because of the Crown that you _stole_ from me? Typical Danny Phantom--always biting off more than you can chew."

"Fuck _off_!" Danny roared, shooting up into the air and planting his boot in Vlad's chest, sending the elder halfa spinning back. Danny turned away from him, frantic. "I don't have time for you, I didn't steal your stupid crown, go away. I have to get to--" Danny was cut off by a snarl and a gloved hand crushing around his throat from behind. Hissing, fangs extending, Danny tried to go intangible, but Vlad merely followed him and tightened his grip.

"What are you in such a hurry for? You have bigger problems to be worrying about, Daniel. Namely _me_ , and what I'm going to do to you if you don't give me back the Crown of Fire."

A wheezy, sardonic laugh escaped Danny's throat as he clawed at Vlad's hand. "God, you're s-so fucking arrogant. The world doesn't revolve around you, Vlad! Now let _go_ of me. I have to get to the Observants Hall before they fuck up the entire universe."

"The Observants Hall?" Vlad raised an eyebrow, grip slackening slightly. "What could you possibly--"

"Let me go!" Danny shouted, wriggling and flailing like an airborne fish as the pull in his chest gave an alarming tug. Hysterical green eyes met solid red. "I don't know about you, but I kind of like being alive, so if you want to have a world to take over or even a _life to live_ after all this, you need to let me go _right now_ , Plasmius!"

There was a horrible, terrifying moment of silence, where Danny thought Vlad was going to continue to be a spiteful jackass and keep him there. But Vlad's eyes flickered and he slowly released Danny, watching Danny oddly as the young halfa floated quickly back out of range. 

They stared at each other for another moment, tense, before Vlad swept out an arm. "Lead the way, Little Badger."

Danny raised his eyebrows. "Say what now?"

Vlad gave him a mean little grin, fangs gleaming dangerously. "Well you seem convinced that this is a matter of global proportions. And with the Observants' history, I am inclined to believe you. Can you blame me for being curious?"

"So, what, you're helping me now?" Danny asked incredulously, turning anyway despite his disbelief. He was on kind of a tight schedule, after all. 

"It wouldn't be the first time. Not that you ever acknowledge or appreciate my help."

Danny shot off once more, Vlad on his heels (er, tail?), and grimaced. "Like you've ever helped me out of the goodness of your heart. There's always something in it for you."

"I've never claimed to be an altruist, Daniel." When Danny shot him a disbelieving look over his shoulder, Vlad amended, "Not to you, anyway."

Snorting, Danny rolled his eyes and shook his head, flying a bit faster to force Plasmius to keep up. "Whatever. If you're serious about helping me, you need to listen to me. When I tell you to do something, you have to do it. And if I say run, _fucking run_."

Vlad raised an eyebrow. "Daniel, we're in the Ghost Zone. I doubt I could _run_ anywhere, considering--"

"Fine, fly! You know what I meant. The point is, don't stick around to try to fight anyone, or even just to spy like your normal creeper self!"

"Why?"

Danny tossed up his hands in exasperation. "Die then. I'll see to it that your bank manager has a lovely funeral to go to," he bit back, purposefully cruel. Vlad snarled at him, and he nodded. "That's what I thought."

Vlad fumed behind him for the remainder of their flight, probably thinking up good comebacks and insults to use later. The man was nothing if not an insanely prideful perfectionist. He did seem startled out of it when Danny banked abruptly to the right as if yanked by an invisible hook, the Observants Hall fading into view as he followed. 

The Observants Hall resided on a small but very steep chunk of floating mountain, cluttered all the way up with pearly white observatories, each with its lense trained in a seperate direction, a large, veiny green eyeball set in the middle of it all, blinking periodically. The veins spread across the corners of it were purple, pulsing slowly as the pupil roamed from observatory to observatory, just... _watching_. Danny swallowed, the urge to hesitate blown away by the fact that the tug in his chest had grown to something hard to ignore. It had never been this bad before. He didn't know whether that was because something about Clockwork's tower stifled it, or if it had strengthened because Dan could feel it--how close he was to getting out. Danny wondered if he could taste the proximity of his freedom on his tongue.

He couldn't let that happen.

"They're going to try to give him a trial," Danny murmured as he flew up to the nearest observatory, its lense missing entirely. "You've been here before, right? When you stole Vortex? Lead me to the court room."

"They wouldn't keep whoever it is in the court room, not until they were ready to commence with the trial and were certain they could hold him," Vlad mused as he took the lead, cresting over the observatory wall in front of them and leading Danny inside. He glanced back at Danny as they flew into the darkened room below them. "Who is it that is frightening you so badly? As far as I know you've met both Vortex and Undergrowth with an infuriating sense of righteousness. Even ghosts capable of mass destruction do not scare you. So who are you trying to keep locked away, Little Badger?"

"...They can't hold him." Danny looked away, unable to hold the man's gaze. He was already on edge as it was. "Whatever they think they've conjured up, it won't hold him. He'll escape and..." He trailed off as the fish hook in his chest snagged again and he was pulled to the right, out of the unused room and into a dim hallway. 

Vlad hurried after him, brow furrowed. "And?"

Danny glanced back at him, pupils small and expression uncharacteristically haunted. "He will kill _everyone_."

Startled, Plasmius merely blinked at him for a moment before opening his mouth to demand answers, only to come up short as they passed by a room filled with encased artifacts. The one currently on display in the center of the room had Vlad's fangs baring in a snarl, gloves creaking as he fisted his hands and ignited them with ectofire. "Those meddling _seeing-eye slugs_ ," he seethed, abandoning Danny completely to dart into the artifacts room and prod at the glass cases. "I'm going to pop their corneas like _grapes_."

"What the fuck are you--" Danny cut off as he ducked back to peek in the room Vlad had broken into, expression twisting with annoyance. "Are you serious? You stopped for--actually, I'm not even surprised. Whatever! I told you I didn't steal it."

Plasmius hummed distractedly as he flattened a glowing palm against the case glass concealing the Crown of Fire. "That you did. It's still debatable."

Danny slapped a hand against his face and dragged it down with a pained groan. "For fuck's--we don't have time for this! Did I not make _the imminent death of the world_ clear enough for you?" He bit out, temper rising rapidly. "You can't even kill the Observants because they're already dead, you moron. You certainly can't kill them if you die first."

"Ah, but you forget, Daniel," Vlad purred as he put a sizable crack in the glass. "You and I are already dead as well."

"Kinda hard to forget, actually," Danny replied dryly as he flew into the room to snatch Vlad by the back of his stupid cape and bodily drag him out of the artifact room. Surprisingly, Plasmius let him. "Now, court room?" 

"I told you," Plasmius started, annoyed now. "They wouldn't start unless they were sure they could--"

A loud clamoring down the hall startled them both, heads whipping around to look at the wavering light emanating from around the far corner. Danny raised an eyebrow and turned slowly back to Vlad. "You were saying?"

Plasmius ignored him, lips parted curiously. "They've never been this brash before." Red eyes glanced at Danny, casting an eerie glow on his already pale face. "I am very interested to meet this villain of yours, Little Badger."

Danny bristled. " _Don't_ even think about it. You can't reason with him. He'd just laugh at you, and then proceed to kill you." He paused for a moment, contemplative. "Actually, especially you. I'm pretty sure he'd kill you second."

"Not first?" Vlad just seemed amused, if a little affronted.

"Nope," Danny murmured, popping his consonants. He turned from Vlad to hurriedly fly down the hall toward the voices of the Observants court. "I'd think that honor is reserved for me, now. If what Clockwork said is true, then I've outlived my usefulness. Now I'm just in the way."

"Everyone can be bought, Daniel," Plasmius drawled with a roll of his eyes. But his claws clicked against each other, sparking--something Vlad only did when he was nervous. Sometimes, he'd do it to specific beats, like he was playing out piano notes in his head. Danny would find it cute if that particular tic didn't usually proceed Danny getting his ass beat.

"Only if you're willing to pay the price," Danny returned sharply, agitated. He flew off around the corner before Plasmius could spit back another scathing reply. 

He came to a tentative halt right after he turned, however. In front of him was a stout, curved walkway that looked like something he'd find in a futuristic Rome, with curled metal columns sectioning it off from a the larger room beyond it every few feet. Past the fancy columns, pale marble steps descended into a circular stadium, lit by sickly green sconces along each side. At the bottom was a bright purple stage, laced with veins like the ones on the eyeball outside. It made Danny shudder. 

"The Odeum," came the whisper, right by his ear. 

Danny yelped, nearly jumping right out of his skin. It was only Vlad clapping a hand over his mouth and yanking him back that stopped him from leaping out into the open and revealing them both. He ripped Vlad's hand from his mouth and hissed, "Could you not?"

Plasmius was leveling him with an incredulous, bemused look. "What is wrong with you?"

"I'm not the one invading peoples' personal space--"

"No," Plasmius said sharply. "What is _wrong_ with you? Your aura is fluctuating--no doubt partially in response to your fear, but that's not the main reason. It stopped doing that when you came into your core. Something is destabilizing you."

Danny went even paler than before, face a snowy sort of blue. He snapped his head toward the Odeum, eyes zeroing in on the Observant in the center of the pit, a very familiar hunk of metal in their hand. He sucked in a breath.

"There he is."

Vlad looked past him and raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Daniel, that's a thermos."

"He's _in_ the thermos!" Danny hissed back, irritated. He crouched a bit, bunching the muscles in his legs. 

"Clearly. But I meant if your ridiculous _ghost catcher_ can hold him, what makes you think the Observants won't be able to?" Plasmius leaned around him to eye the pile of glowing cubes just beneath the trailing hem of the center Observant's robes. "I've never seen those before in all my time in these halls."

Breaking in, Danny had no doubt. But he didn't say so, because he was too focused on the dented thermos in the Observant's claws. He sidled back like a large cat preparing to pounce. "I have plenty of high level ghosts in Fenton thermoses at home. Vortex included, and we both know how well the Observants trying to hold _him_ turned out." 

Vlad made a face at the memory. Danny licked his lips nervously, intent. 

"If I turn invisible and throw myself down there fast enough, I might be able to snatch it before they let him out. Then I get the thermos back to Clockwork, he puts it somewhere even the Observants can't find it, and everyone goes home happy and healthy and the world is saved."

"They'll lock the entire observatory down as soon as you get your hands on the thermos," Vlad argued, eyes scanning the various exits before flicking back down to the pit. "You create a distraction, and I will retrieve your villain. I'm much more apt at stealth than you," he reasoned.

Danny scoffed. "And what, I'm just supposed to take your word for it?"

A fanged grin flashed at him, glinting green in the lowlight. Vlad looked positively devious. "What, don't trust me, Little Badger?"

"Far less than I could throw you, Plasmius," Danny bit back, eyes narrowed. Vlad merely smirked, and Danny rubbed at his eyes with a heavy sigh. "Okay. Okay, new plan. I'll go blow something up in another room, they'll rush over there, we'll circle back for the thermos, you hold them off if they come after us and melt any doors they try to close on us. But you do _not_ touch that thermos. Got it?" He shot Plasmius a stern, icy look.

Vlad held his gloved hands up in mock surrender, head tipped. "As you wish."

That...was far too innocent for it to be remotely true. 

Danny shook his head, running a hand through his hair. He blew out a breath, nodded to himself, and shot off down the hall with one last backward glance at Plasmius. Whatever Vlad was planning, Danny couldn't be bothered with it right then. Dan was too close to escape. 

He hurtled into the nearest room and took a quick look around. There were several lab tables stationed in it, large microscopes on top of them that were pointed down into holes in the lacquer. Different colored lights beamed up from them, but Danny couldn't indulge his curiosity, so he raised a hand, charged an ectoblast, and prayed that whatever these things were wasn't something intrinsic to life as they knew it. Then he pooled his power in his hand and blasted one of the tables, sending black stone and shards of metal and glass exploding out everywhere. Danny winced, but set his jaw, determined.

He hit the rest of the tables quickly, razing them to the ground and leaving ectofire in his wake. About halfway through his lightshow, a shrill alarm began to blare from overhead, and he huffed a breath of relief. He hurriedly dived through the floor and rushed back to the court room where he'd left Plasmius.

Danny resurfaced from the floor and looked around to find Plasmius standing in the center of the now empty Odeum, the Observant knocked out at his feet as he tapped a claw curiously against lid of the thermos. Danny snarled on instinct, hackles raised as he dove down into the pit toward Vlad. 

"I told you not to touch that!"

"You know, Daniel," Vlad began after a moment, tone absent. His eyes were locked onto the metal in his hand with a startling intensity, and Danny's stomach sank. "There's an ending to the saying 'curiosity killed the cat'. Where's my satisfaction?"

"Vlad," Danny said slowly, floating closer and carefully holding out a hand. "Give that to me. I know you can feel him, but it's not worth it. The satisfaction is in _not dying_ , okay? It's not worth it. Do _not_ open that." He edged a bit closer and growled when Vlad edged back in return. He hadn't anticipated this. He hadn't even thought it would be a possibility. 

Dan had always seemed like Danny's nightmare. It made it easy to forget that he wasn't _just_ Danny at his worst. 

There was a significant part of him that was comprised of Plasmius as well. And Vlad could feel the same pull Danny did. Already was, if the glazed look in his eyes said anything. 

With a start, Danny realized that the tug in his own chest had quieted a bit.

Dan must've been able to hear them. He was focusing on Vlad now, banking on the elder halfa's hunger for answers and power to free him now that the Observants's foolishness was out of the question. 

"Vlad!" Danny barked, alarm rising in his chest when black claws ventured a bit too close to the release switch. 

Without thinking, Danny sprung forward, lunging for the thermos and sending Plasmius skittering back in surprise. Then, affronted, Vlad snarled at him and twisted the cap, vindictive. 

Danny could barely spare a moment to be horrified, because as soon as Vlad loosened the lid, the thermos exploded with white light. A shockwave of power thundered throughout the room, sending Plasmius blasting back into the stairs and Danny spiralling head over heels into the floor. The white turned a burning, toxic green, and Danny lifted his head from the floor just as a familiar, enraged roar met his ears, shaking apart the foundations of the Odeum. Danny clapped his hands over his ears, eyes wide and fearful as he watched the thermos gutter and spit, before finally releasing its prisoner.

The dark, hulking shape of Dan Phantom emerged, and Danny _couldn't breathe_.

Staggering to his feet, the Odeum still cracking apart under his boots, Danny clawed his way up the wall and darted toward Vlad. He was blinking dazedly at the shadow of Dan, head lolled to the side and a bright burst of pink ectoplasm leaking from his temple. 

" **Finally. At long last...** "

All the hair on Danny's body stood up at the sound of that mountain-thunder voice, and he nearly choked on his own breath as he got a hand around Plasmius's arm to try and drag him up. "We need to go, _now_. Get UP!" 

Vlad was still out of it, and in his own frustration, Danny cocked back an arm and smacked him _hard_ across the face. Vlad spluttered, coherency sparking back into his eyes as he glared at Danny before focusing back on the monster behind them both. "Daniel--"

"I know, I know, get the fuck up we have to _go_ ," Danny screeched, panic seeping liberally into his voice as he hauled Plasmius to his feet. 

"Daniel, what..." Vlad went on uncertainly, the distinct black and white of the specter's outfit pinging off the fuzziness still clouding his head. The light was receding, and with it their window to escape unscathed, but he couldn't look away. "What type of--"

Danny got tired of waiting, simply hoisting Vlad like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder and bolting for the slat in the ceiling that opened up into the rest of the Ghost Zone. Vlad had full view of the ghost that had been released, but despite Danny's frantic scrambling, he wasn't doing much of anything. Just...breathing.

They were out of the observatory entirely when yet another explosion rocked the walls within, sending the telescope at their backs flying off and crashing into both of them. Danny cried out, losing his grip on Plasmius and getting caught beneath the largest part of the scope, nearly tumbling down into the abyss below before Vlad grabbed him and turned him intangible. Yanking the young halfa back up next to him, Vlad hauled them both onto a nearby hunk of rock to catch their breath. 

From the smoking remains of the observatory, Vlad could hear the faint, panicked screams of the Observants, along with wetter, sharper noises that sounded like wet sand being dropped on the ground. Then, a laugh.

" **What sort of cosmic guardians are you? To release one of your greatest threats of your own volition...** "

That same shadow from before rose out above the smoke, whirling his arms out wide. Vlad's eyes locked onto the symbol stamped in white over the specter's chest, and his eyes widened. He glanced over his shoulder to a terrified Danny, eyes flicking down to his chest and back again. 

"Get up," Danny rasped faintly, not moving himself. He seemed just as stricken as Plasmius by the ghost's presence. "We need...we need to run..."

And this time--this time Vlad did not ask. He did not taunt, he did not mock. There was something pressing him in on all sides, crushing against his aura and pushing metal against his tongue. He knew they could not stay here. 

So he picked Danny up like the boy had been holding him moments ago--

\--and they ran.


End file.
